Need a mask? 1.25M free masks expected to be produced for Utahns by end of May

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SALT LAKE CITY — About 500,000 masks are expected to be out for delivery to Utah residents by the start of next week and more than 1 million by the end of the month as local businesses that shifted to making the face coverings for the state’s "Mask For Every Utahn" campaign crank out the protective items.

Todd Bingham, president and CEO of the Utah Manufacturers Association, said an estimated 150,000 to 160,000 masks have already been delivered, as of Wednesday evening. The roughly two dozen businesses helping out with the campaign are continuing to produce new masks each day, he said.

"These are companies that switched their operations from something else and have geared up to manufacturing masks, so when you do that, there’s a little bit of lag time in getting them up and going and producing the new product," he said. "We’re through that initial phase now and the curve is starting to hit where about 500,000 masks will be in by Monday, and we’re slated to hit about 1.25 million on our end specifically by the end of the month."

All sorts of Utah businesses that typically manufacture products ranging from airbags and seat belts to letterman jackets, motorhome interior finishes, socks, athletic clothing, mattresses and more agreed to help create masks for the campaign, which Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox announced on April 28.

The program, Cox said, was funded through the federal Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It offers 2 million free masks for people unable to otherwise get one in Utah. The demand for the masks was large enough that the state’s website where people can request a mask crashed within minutes of the announcement and remained down for several hours.

As of Tuesday night, 214,788 people had signed up for masks, according to Ben Hart, deputy director for the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. In all, 910,093 masks had been requested and the average order was for 4.24 masks. It means people can still request a mask if they still need it.

Face masks and coverings are meant to play big factors in Utah’s stabilization period that began May 1 when the state moved to moderate risk, or orange, on its risk dial.

Gov. Gary Herbert announced on Thursday that all of Utah aside from Grand, Summit, Wasatch counties and Salt Lake City and West Valley City in Salt Lake County will switch to yellow, or low risk, beginning Saturday. But even under yellow, or low risk, people are encouraged to wear masks or coverings in any situation where they are within 6 feet of someone else. That may be at a public gathering, workplace, a grocery store, a restaurant, or even a school when they reopen for the first time.

"I would hope that the use of masks becomes something that we all want to do to help prevent the spread. We find by studies that if we wear masks, the chance of any of us catching or spreading the coronavirus drops dramatically," Herbert said. "You have about a 50% chance of catching it (without masks). If one has a mask, it drops dramatically. If both have masks, it goes down to less than 5%. So wearing a mask is still an important part of our protocol, and we’d hope that people maintain that, in fact, ramp up that as we open up the economy."

Face coverings continue to be recommended or required until the state reaches green or "new normal," which happens when there’s no longer a risk of COVID-19. That may not happen until there’s a vaccine or herd immunity. Health experts have said a vaccine likely won’t be available until at least 2021, and Utah Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said Wednesday that Utah was "far away" from reaching herd immunity.

Under the "Masks for Every Utahn" campaign, officials selected two mask designs that best met criteria from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to allow for better quality control. The participating businesses were given the instructions for those designs, Bingham said.

Once they are completed, they are wrapped along with instructions for how to use the mask. They are then shipped to a facility where they are separated by state employees and volunteers to be individually packaged and distributed out to the people who requested them. Those facilities are located in all sorts of regions across the state.

You have about a 50% chance of catching it (without masks). If one has a mask, it drops dramatically. If both have masks, it goes down to less than 5%. So wearing a mask is still an important part of our protocol, and we’d hope that people maintain that, in fact, ramp up that as we open up the economy.

–Gov. Gary Herbert

One of the earliest constraints was a low supply of textile materials needed for masks. Bingham said some of the companies involved were using materials they had in storage to fulfill mask orders and the Utah Manufacturers Association was assisting to track down materials. Many of the companies involved aren’t just working to make masks for the state program, but also for businesses that have requested masks, gowns, plastic face shields and all sorts of different personal protective equipment. Now that manufacturers have gotten a foothold on the process, bulk production is anticipated.

"The one thing we see about manufacturers is that they’re very nimble and they’re innovative," Bingham said, adding that it’s allowed many of the businesses to stay open and keep a couple of hundred Utahns employed.

The "Mask for Every Utahn" campaign isn’t the only program meant to increase the supply of masks in the state. For example, many of Utah’s colleges and universities launched a new campaign effort Wednesday that aims to produce 5 million medical-grade masks. Volunteers already produced more than 3 million masks under the collaborative effort among University of Utah Health, Intermountain Healthcare, Latter-day Saint Charities and numerous Utah nonprofit organizations, organizers said.

While normally different businesses and organizations producing the same product would be competing against each other, everyone is on the same page with the effort. Bingham said he probably wouldn’t have envisioned businesses creating masks two months ago, but the goal has been to be united in helping people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The state had a need to try and provide a mask for every individual out there, and we said we think we can help do that by finding companies that have this capability and capacity; but more importantly, just doing something that helps pull the community together," he said. "I think that it’s important that people wear the masks. It’s something with the unknown status of the virus, it’s really not something that’s difficult to do when we’re out and about and trying to flatten that curve."